How Can I Install Excel 2013 (Is There a Free Trial Version)?

I just registered yesterday, and watched the first 7 videos for Excel 2013 Essential Skills; I have yet to download the sample files. Do I need Excel on my computer in order to complete the course excersizes? I am running Windows 7 Pro with only Publisher 2003--I do not have any other Microsoft Office programs. I had the computer custom-made in 2010 with only the programs I needed at the time. Lots of free space on the 4GB hard drive. Looking for Microsoft Office professional 2013, any suggestions for where I might find a genuine product? MS no longer carries it, just their new 2016 version for loads on money.

To learn to use Excel you do need a copy of Excel to be installed upon your computer. Without Excel it would be a little like trying to learn to drive a car from a book.

About Office 2016

Office 2016 was officially released on 22nd September 2015 and will begin to roll out to Office 365 subscribers (via an update) at some time this month (February 2016).

We've already published “Learn Microsoft Excel 2016 Essential Skills with The Smart Method” as a paper printed book (currently in stock at Amazon) and are currently working on the book “Learn Excel 2016 Expert Skills with The Smart Method” which should be available (and in stock at Amazon) before the end of February 2016.

Excel 2016 is almost identical to Excel 2013 except for the addition of 3D Maps (previously known as Power Maps) and Get & Transform (an ETL tool previously known as Power Query). These are both Expert-level skills (some would say beyond expert) and are covered extensively in two new sessions (added to the end of the new 2016 Expert skills book).

Apart from these new features (that don’t exist in Excel 2013) you shouldn't have any difficulty using our Excel 2013 video course with the new Excel 2016 release. It will take some time (after the 2016 books are published) to record and edit a new set of Excel 2016 video lessons. If you are in a hurry to learn the new Excel 2016 features you should purchase the 2016 books rather than the 2013 video courses.

How to install Office 2013 or Office 2016

Here are the ways you can get a copy of Excel 2013 or Excel 2016 (this information was current on 12th February 2016).

Office 365 Subscription

Microsoft are trying to move all users onto a subscription model (and away from the old “buy it once and use forever” model).

You can install either Excel 2013 or Excel 2016 with an Office 365 subscription (see below for instructions on how to install Excel 2013).

Their subscription service is called Office 365. A subscription for Office Home Edition costs $9.99 per month (discounted to $99.99 per year if you pay a year up front) and allows you to install Office 2013, Office 2016, or a mixture of the two, on up to five Personal Computers.

Office 365 One Month Free Trial

You can install either Excel 2013 or Excel 2016 with an Office 365 one month free trial subscription (see below for instructions on how to install Excel 2013).

You can learn Excel without actually buying it by taking advantage of Microsoft’s Office 365 one-month free trial. Of course, you’d have to learn Excel in a month or less for this to be really free. To sign up for the free trial Microsoft need your credit card details and they will charge you if you don’t cancel within the month.

Excel 2016 One-Time Purchase.

You may not find it easy to purchase Excel 2013 as a one-time purchase as Microsoft stopped selling this when they released Excel 2016 (the official release date was 22nd Sept 2015).

You can’t update the one-time buy with Microsoft updates and you can’t share it amongst five users (like you can with a 365 subscription). so many users may not regard it as good value.

At 12th Feb 2016 the retail price of this product (Home and Business edition) was $229.99 for a single-user copy.

How to install Office 2013 as an Office 365 subscriber

Microsoft make the 2013 install option difficult to find as they would really rather you installed the latest version. But if you want your copy of Excel to perfectly match the video walk-throughs in the Excel 2013 video courses here’s how you can still install Excel 2013.

Log in to your Office 365 account (you need to register with Microsoft for either a subscription or free trial to do this).

Click the INSTALL button in the normal way.

On the Install Information screen DO NOT click Install (or you will install Office 2016) but, instead, click: Language and Install Options.

On the next screen once again DO NOT click Install but click: Additional install options.

Select Office 2013 (32-bit) from the Install menu (for most users the 32-bit version is recommended by Microsoft even if you are running 64 bit windows).

Thanks Mike! My 64 bit computer has 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive (not as mentioned above); I will be purchasing Office 2016 home and business for $219.00 from the company who built my computer. Thank you for the great information above, and of course for offering your Excel course online!

Well, not having Excel on my computer explains why the sample files do not open when clicked. "No items match your search" appears. I will watch the videos to become aquainted with Excel, then come back and do the excersizes when Office 2016 is installed on my computer.

Purchased and downloaded Office 2016 Home and Business today; the sample files for the course work perfectly, and I was able to practice what I've learned so far. I just need to stop playing with Power Point!